Another Chance
by Sylvia Viridian
Summary: Postgame. Kratos has left, and Lloyd knows that DerrisKharlan is out of reach. But if anyone can find a way to provide a bit of hope for father and son, it's the Professor. Oneshot, genfic.


Here's a fic that sprang pretty much fully-formed from my mind. It's finished, so no one ask me to continue it; this was never meant to be more than a one-shot. That said, please enjoy!

I don't own them.

* * *

Lloyd stared out his bedroom window, distracted from his efforts to plan his Exsphere-collection journey. He couldn't help but remember that last sight of Kratos as his father, his true father who he'd only just been getting to know, disappeared forever into the heavens. 

He shook his head angrily. It had been Kratos' decision, Kratos' insistence on leaving with the comet. At any rate, there was nothing he could do about it now; it had been a few days since the event, and now Derris-Kharlan was beyond the ability of the Eternal Sword to keep it in place near the newly-reunified world. He needed to move on past these regrets; they weren't going to do anyone any good, after all.

"I guess in the end…he might as well have died," Lloyd muttered to himself, "It's not like I'll ever get to see him again." And that stung, more than Lloyd wanted to admit. He was still young, but gradually coming into an awareness of how long forever was, how long he would be living in the world without his human father's presence. And, too, there was the question of whether he would even have a human lifespan…there were so many questions he'd never gotten the chance to ask, and now it was too late…

With a regretful sigh, he turned back to his work. There was nothing to be done now…he'd just have to keep moving forward with his life and forget about Kratos. As he focused back on the map, though, he heard a knock at the door of the house, downstairs, and then the sound of his father answering it.

"Why, hello, lass! I take it you're here to see Lloyd?" the dwarf asked in his jovial tones.

"Indeed we are," Raine's voice replied, "I have something important to discuss with him."

"He's been a trifle off lately," Dirk told her, "Might be good to have some friends around. He's upstairs in his room, working on some plans."

"Thank you." Raine's delicate footfalls, followed by another, still lighter pair, made their way across the wooden floor and up the stairs. As they reached the top, Lloyd opened his door to admit the visitors, noting that Raine was being closely followed by Sheena.

"Hey, Professor, Sheena! How have you been?" he asked cheerfully, "Come on in!" He ushered them into his room.

"Hello, Lloyd," Raine said with a nod, "I wanted to talk to you…about Derris-Kharlan."

Lloyd's expression fell. "What about it?" he asked cautiously, "It's out of reach of the Eternal Sword by now, you know."

"Yes, but only just," Raine nodded, "I know that you wouldn't be able to hold it in orbit any longer, and frankly I'm not sure if that would be a good idea even if you could. But…there may be something we can do."

"Huh?" Lloyd's eyebrows furrowed, "I don't get it."

"Lloyd, everything in this area of space orbits around the sun, which is just like the stars in the sky," Raine began, "They're held there by gravity, the same force that Gnome controls on our world. In many places, gravity's pull is very slight, but it still remains, and I believe we can use it to our advantage."

Seeing that they had Lloyd's attention, Sheena continued for Raine, "See, Derris-Kharlan is a wandering comet, which means it'll leave this area rather than circling the sun, from what I understand. But if we can use Gnome's energy to slow it down, it'll start circling the sun just like our world does."

"I…don't really get it," Lloyd said, "What does that mean?"

"It means that Derris-Kharlan and our world would pass close together again someday," Raine explained, "…Close enough to be in range of teleporters, even."

Lloyd's eyes widened. "You-you mean…" he said, "I…we could see Kratos again?"

"It's possible," Raine acknowledged, "At the very least, there's no need for him to remain on that lonely world for all eternity. It would give him the option to return, if he wished it. I can't determine how long the orbit would take, or how often the worlds would pass close, but…it's at least some degree of hope."

Lloyd nodded eagerly, "Of course, yeah, but…why are you asking me about it? You already know I'd be happy to see him again, and Derris-Kharlan's getting farther away every second, we don't really have a lot of time to waste."

"We need your help," Sheena said, "The Eternal Sword is the only thing that can channel Gnome's power out far enough into space to have any real effect on Derris-Kharlan."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Lloyd cried, leaping to his feet, "Let's go do it, before it gets any farther away!"

The others followed suit, caught up in Lloyd's enthusiasm, and soon they were on their way to the ruins of the Tower of Salvation.

* * *

Kratos had settled in to his old rooms on Derris-Kharlan fairly easily, and had spent the last few days working on finding and eliminating the vast stores of Exspheres that Mithos had built up in their home. Once this had been accomplished, he would begin the long task of freeing the angels from their Cruxis Crystals and helping them as they regained their souls after so long without them. It would take several years, at least…but Kratos was already dreading the time when this would end and there would be nothing left for him to do with himself. 

Suddenly, a tremor ran through the comet, followed by another. He dashed to the nearest console. "Computer!" he cried, "What's happening?"

"A MASSIVE SURGE OF GRAVITY HAS BEEN DETECTED FROM THE PLANET," the computer's flat voice intoned, "DERRIS-KHARLAN IS DECELERATING AT A SIGNIFICANT RATE."

"A gravity surge?" Kratos asked, confused, "What could be causing that?"

"SOURCES INDICATE THAT THE CAUSE IS GNOME'S ENERGY," the computer replied.

Kratos thought about this for a long moment, an odd expression flickering across his face. Finally, he said, "Computer. Calculate the change that this deceleration will create in our trajectory."

The computer paused for a moment, then said, "CALCULATION COMPLETE. DERRIS-KHARLAN WILL NOW ORBIT THE SUN, REMAINING WITHIN THIS SOLAR SYSTEM."

That was it, then. "Will we approach the planet again, and if so when?" he asked carefully.

"IN SEVEN YEARS, DERRIS-KHARLAN WILL BE ONCE MORE WITHIN TELEPORTER RANGE OF ASELIA, FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE DAYS," the computer replied promptly.

Kratos nodded, feeling a bit dizzy, and stepped away from the console. "Lloyd…" he murmured. It had to be Lloyd, of course, channeling Sheena's power through the Eternal Sword, which meant that at least the two of them were willing to have him back…but where had he gotten the idea? It would have to have been Raine, or perhaps Genis, that suggested it in the first place. There was an odd tugging sensation in his heart, as he realized that it wasn't only Lloyd that wanted him to stay, but his companions as well. Perhaps…perhaps he'd been wrong. Maybe there was still a place for him in the new world they were building.

Suddenly, it seemed as though seven years couldn't pass soon enough.


End file.
